


If I Close My Eyes, I Can Still See You

by whatisreggieshortfor



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Bisexual Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Blindness, Carrie and Bobby are twins, Disabled Character, Established Relationship, Gen, Glaucoma, Gradual Blindness, Julie and Reggie are siblings, M/M, Not beta we die like Sunset Curve, Reggie Peters Has ADHD (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Peters Needs a Hug (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Peters-centric (Julie and The Phantoms), Secrets, Soft Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:55:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29941350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatisreggieshortfor/pseuds/whatisreggieshortfor
Summary: Reggie has glaucoma and the only ones who know are Ray and Julie. But can he keep it a secret?
Relationships: Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Bobby | Trevor Wilson/Reggie Peters, Ray Molina & Reggie Peters
Comments: 15
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is purely based on my experience with my glaucoma. I’ve been to three eye doctors and they do not believe they can save my eyes so please don’t comment with tips or tricks, I’ve read up on it and nothing helps, but thank you. I’ve accepted my fate, and this is just to vent the little frustration I have left.

Reggie had managed to keep a lid on his condition for a few years now. The only people that knew were Julie and her dad, and even they could tell it was getting worse, no matter how much Reggie didn’t want to admit it. He wouldn’t have even told the Molinas if he hadn’t been adopted into the family. Ray helped out however he could, getting him the vitamins that were supposed to slow it down and setting up appointments, and Julie would help Reggie if he had trouble, especially if their friends were around.

Because Reggie had been diagnosed with glaucoma, and he was going blind.

It was a slow process, and he was beginning to lose his depth perception. While it wasn’t always painful, there were days when his eyes burned and hurt. Today was one of those days. They were in the studio with the guys, and Julie could tell something was off. Reggie kept having trouble with where he was placing fingers, and he spent the entire time with his eyes glued to his hands, blinking furiously like he was trying to clear his line of sight. Right up until Luke snapped, “Okay, what is going on? Reg, you’ve played this song like a thousand times!”

Bobby glared at him as Reggie flinched, taking his bass off, but missing his stand by a few inches when he tried to put it down. Alex looked concerned, “Bud, you dizzy or something?” He asked, moving around his drums and putting the guitar in its place. Reggie nodded. He wasn’t, but it was a good enough excuse. Julie shooed Luke into the house to get him some water, and Bobby and Alex led Reggie over to the couch. “Why didn’t you let us know you weren’t feeling good?”

Reggie just shrugged, trying not to look his friends in the eyes so they wouldn’t see how unfocused his were. “I figured it would go away.”

Bobby just rubbed Reggie’s shoulder, not a word leaving his mouth. Luke came back with a glass and Julie declared practice was over as Reggie sipped the water, pointedly ignoring Luke’s pout about cutting it short. After Reggie finally finished sipping the drink down, Bobby gave him a smile, “How about we just watch a movie today?”

Reggie smiled back the best he could, giving his boyfriend a nod. But as he moved to set the glass on the table, he missed the edge by a few inches and the glass toppled to the ground, breaking in the cement floor, “Fuck, I’m sorry Jules.”

“Reg, it’s okay.” She said calmly, already bending over to pick up the large pieces, “Alex, can you grab the broom for me?”

The tall blonde swept up the pieces she didn’t collect, depositing them into the trash as Luke looked at Reggie, “Bro, are you blind or something? You missed the whole table.” Reggie heard a thwap and Luke hiss in pain, and he figured one of the others smacked Luke in the head.

“Reg,” he heard Julie beside him but didn’t bother to look up, “Have you taken your contacts out? I can get your glasses.” He nodded again. He could vaguely hear her shoes tap their way out of the room.

“Babe,” Bobby spoke quietly, “Since when do you where glasses? Or contacts?”

“Uh...a couple years.”

Bobby’s brow furrowed, “What?”

“Since we were like fifteen.” Reggie sighed, “I just don’t like to wear them.”

Bobby hummed, still rubbing his shoulder, “I bet they look cute on you.” He punctuated the sentence by poking the tip of Reggie’s nose, and the bassist finally cracked a smile. Julie came back a few moments later, passing Reggie his black frames. He grimaced internally at the thick lenses as he slid them onto his face. “Yup,” Bobby nodded like he was confirming something, “Cute as fuck.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is purely based on my experience with my glaucoma. I’ve been to three eye doctors and they do not believe they can save my eyes so please don’t comment with tips or tricks, I’ve read up on it and nothing helps, but thank you. I’ve accepted my fate, and this is just to vent the little frustration I have left.

Reggie was having a bad day. He’d woken up and his vision was so clouded that even with his glasses he walked into his night stand and doorway just trying to get to the hallway. His hands held out in front of him, he was inching forward until he found the top of the stairs. “Hey, Reg.” Julie called softly, and he felt a hand on his elbow, “Need some help?”

He wanted to say no. Wanted to turn down her assistance every time. Wanted to make her understand that if he couldn’t do this, he didn’t think he would have much hope for how much longer he’d be able to do anything he needed to see for. But he couldn’t. So he nodded. She gently took hold of his arm, speaking in a low voice. He figured Carlos must be home, they hadn’t told him yet. He’d been so excited about having a brother to play baseball with, Reggie didn’t want to upset him. When they reached the foot of the stairs, she led him to the kitchen, until he could firmly grasp a chair and climb into it. He heard her footsteps scuttle away which told him she was probably getting Ray.

“Morning mijo!” He heard, confirming his suspicions.

“Hey, dad.” He waved in the general direction of the voice.

“You were very close, mijo. I’m about to make breakfast, would you like to help?”

_‘How_ _can a blind person help?’_ was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back. Ray was just trying to help and keep Reggie from feeling like he was something fragile or different, so when he opened his mouth what came out was, “Sure, what can i do?”

“That’s my boy.” He could hear the grin in Ray’s voice more than he saw it on his face. “I’ll crack the eggs into a bowl and you can stir it up while I get the bread and warm the skillet.”

“Dad!” Reggie heard Carlos call, “Jake’s here, so I’m heading out.”

“Alright, mijo! Stay safe and stay out of trouble. Good luck!”

“He doesn’t need luck, Ray. He’s gonna kill those out of town games.” Reggie laughed.

“You know it, bro!” Carlos called before his steps could be heard thundering out the door, “Oh hey, Bobbers. See ya in a few days!”

Reggie froze, fork poised in the bowl of broken eggs. He had no idea Bobby was supposed to come by today, or he would’ve asked Julie to tell him they had something going on. Before he could fall into the pit in his head, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, and the familiar scent of his boyfriend’s cologne floated into his nose. “Hey, baby. Surprise.”

“Yeah-“ Reggie cleared his throat, “Did we have something happening today?”

“Hmm?” Bobby hummed as he pressed a kiss to Reggie’s cheek, “No, I could tell something was off yesterday so I thought we could spend the day doing whatever you want. Get you out of your head.”

Reggie knew his cheeks were on fire. A deep fondness filled his chest for the other boy, “I appreciate it. I’m helping Ray make breakfast, but maybe after? If you want to join us, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course not, mijo. Bobby is practically my son in law.” Reggie flushed deeper at the teasing tone in his voice.

“Thanks, papi.” Bobby grinned, hugging his arms tighter around the bassist’s waist. “Babe? You need to actually scramble the eggs if you want him to cook.” Reggie nodded automatically, resuming the whisking motion he’d been doing before. After a few minutes, Ray plucked the bowl from Reggie’s hands, shooing him out of the kitchen. Reggie clutched Bobby’s arm, knowing that by instinct his boyfriend would lead him through the house. When they settled onto the living room couch, Reggie was trying to find some kind of focus, but his vision was still too cloudy.

“Hey, darling? Do you think you could read to me?”

“Of course. You wanna pick?”

Reggie shook his head, shutting his eyes as he pictured his boyfriend’s face. “You can pick. I just wanna listen to you.”

He felt lips brush his cheek, “Okay, babe. I’ll be right back.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is purely based on my experience with my glaucoma. I’ve been to three eye doctors and they do not believe they can save my eyes so please don’t comment with tips or tricks, I’ve read up on it and nothing helps, but thank you. I’ve accepted my fate, and this is just to vent the little frustration I have left.

When they finished breakfast, Reggie allowed himself to be pulled back to the couch. He waited, knowing Bobby was getting comfortable, and then he felt the tug on his hand, and he let himself get pulled until he was curling up on Bobby’s lap with his head tucked into the other boy’s chest. He closed his eyes again, picturing the way Bobby’s face changed with each of the character’s reactions and emotions as he read. His boyfriend carded his fingers through his black hair as he read, pressing intermittent kisses to the top of his head. “Hey Bobble?”

“Yeah babe?” He questioned, holding the book to the side to give the boy in his lap all his attention.

“You know I love you, right?” They didn’t say it often. They’d been together for almost four years. Since they were sixteen, and they were only a few months away from turning twenty. They usually said it through things they did. Like when Bobby would turn country music on during a drive, even though he didn’t care for it, or how he’d sit and listen when Reggie would infodump about whatever his hyperfixation was at the time when no one else would. Or when Reggie would be happy to sit in silence when Bobby was immersed in a new book or hold his hand and remind him he was there when Bobby was angry and trying not to fight someone. They just didn’t use the words. But sometimes Reggie felt like he would burst if he didn’t. “I just- I really love you.”

Bobby looked a little taken by surprise, not that Reggie could see it, but it quickly faded into a smile, “I love you too, baby. More than anything.” He pressed gentle kisses all over the bassist’s face for a minute before pulling back, “You ready to tell me what’s going on?”

Reggie froze, “Wha- what do you mean?”

Bobby hummed again, still running his fingers through the other boy’s hair, “I can tell something is bothering you. Whatever had you so out of it yesterday. I know it wasn’t just dizziness.”

“It’s nothing, Bobbers. Don’t worry so much.” He muttered, hoping the others would drop it.

“I can tell when I shouldn’t pry. Just promise you’ll tell me one day.”

“I promise.” Reggie closed his eyes again, practically burrowing into his boyfriend’s chest. Bobby took that his cue and lifted the book, continuing where he left off.

“‘As the sun rose after the day of the final battle, dust settling back into the mountainside, the Warlock priestess looked out at her allies...’”

Reggie wasn’t sure when he fell asleep, but when he woke up his vision had finally unclouded. He blinked himself awake, still buried in Bobby’s arms. “Hey, sleepyhead.” His boyfriend’s voice floated to his ears, “How you feeling?”

“I’m good.” Reggie smiled up at him, “I’m really, really good.”

Bobby smiled, pressing a kiss to Reggie’s forehead, “I’m glad. But I need you to get up for a sec, babe. I really need to pee.”

Laughing, Reggie rolled off his boyfriend, making his way to the kitchen for a glass of water to cure his sleepy dry mouth.

“Hey, mijo.” Ray called from the counter by the stove, “How are you doing?” He gestured slightly to his eyes before continuing to dice the vegetables for dinner.

“Better, the cloudiness finally cleared.”

Ray made a considering noise, “Have you told him yet?”

“No.” Reggie deflated a bit. “I just don’t want him to look at me differently.” He fidgeted with his glasses, trying to keep his eyes from watering. “I couldn’t take it if things change between us. I know you and Jules try to act like nothing’s changed, but I know you guys spend every day worrying about what’ll happen to me. And I get it, it’s hard to accept someone you care about is going blind but-“

“Blind?” Reggie went stock still when he heard Bobby’s voice cut through the air, “Who’s going blind?”

Ray looked incredibly guilty, like he hadn’t realized Bobby was still in the house. Reggie heaved a sigh from deep in his lungs, “I am.”

“You mean ‘cause you got glasses now? Just cause your eyes are bad doesn’t mean they won’t recover.” He said slowly, taking a seat next to the bassist.

“It’s not that, uh, can we go up to my room and talk about this?” Bobby nodded, brows furrowed, and Ray waited quietly as the boys excused themselves and went upstairs. As soon as they managed to get into Reggie’s room, he shut the door and kind of slumped against it. He’d been dreading this conversation.

“Baby?” Bobby called out softly, managing to come with a foot of Reggie before he’d noticed, his brows furrowed and concern written in his face. It always puzzled Reggie, the sarcastic and teasing boy he had fallen in love with was the same boy that was nothing but sweet and considerate of him. Bobby always made sure that whatever he did or said didn’t hurt Reggie’s feelings.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I have glaucoma, and usually there are treatments that will slow it down, but all the doctors I’ve seen don’t have much hope for how long it’ll last, and I should’ve said something but I-,” Reggie knew he was rambling, but there was a thump in his throat and tears burning his eyes and he couldn’t stop, “I know it’s a lot. I don’t expect you to stick around as it gets worse, but I was- I _am_ afraid. I don’t think I can live without being around you every day. Even if I can’t see you, just having you close is enough, and I’m not ready to lose that.”

“Baby,” Bobby wrapped his arms around Reggie’s shoulders, “You aren’t going to lose me. Especially not over this. I want to help you, to be here for you. I love you with my entire heart, you dork. I’m not going anywhere.” Reggie felt the wetness that dripped onto his shoulder, telling him that his boyfriend was crying too.

“I love you, Bobby.”

“I love you, Reg. We’ll figure this out. I promise.” The brunette rubbed his boyfriend’s back as his body shook. Mentally promising himself that no matter what, he would be there for Reggie every step of the way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is purely based on my experience with my glaucoma. I’ve been to three eye doctors and they do not believe they can save my eyes so please don’t comment with tips or tricks, I’ve read up on it and nothing helps, but thank you. I’ve accepted my fate, and this is just to vent the little frustration I have left.

Ray had offered to let his boyfriend move in, but Reggie didn’t want to burden them any more than he already was. Bobby still spent pretty much every night there, only leaving to go to work, and he was making plans with Ray for Reggie to move in to his apartment instead. Not that Reggie knew that.

Alex was the next one to find out about Reggie’s condition. It was a little over two months since Bobby found out, and the blurry days were occurring more frequently. It wasn’t anything that Reggie did, but Alex had been suspecting something was wrong for a while. He’d looked up the symptoms he noticed, and eventually he came to just a few options. Glaucoma was the least dangerous, so Alex prayed it was something like that instead of a brain tumor or something more severe. He waited until after Luke and Julie left one afternoon before bringing it up.

“So, Reg.” He dragged out his friend’s name, unsure if he should build up to it or just bite the bullet. He decided to dive right in, “When were you going to tell me you were losing your eyesight?” In hindsight, he should have waited, from the way Reggie choked on the water he was drinking and shot a hurt and betrayed look at Bobby. “I’m sorry! I’ve been doing research based on what I’ve seen. Bobby didn’t- wait, Bobby knew?”

“Of course I knew.” The brunette stated flatly. 

“Well, he didn’t tell me.” Alex continued, “I’ve just been noticing things, and I don’t know for sure what’s going on, but I have suspicions.”

“I have glaucoma.” Reggie said quietly, staring at his own hands. Julie had painted his nails a bright red. “And the doctors I’ve seen don’t have much hope for it.”

“Okay. Can I help at all?” Reggie shook his head and sniffled, and Alex felt like shit. “Reg, I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just concerned. This doesn’t change anything.”

“Doesn’t it though?” Reggie laughed humorlessly. “You’re gonna be careful about what you say now. No more jokes about being blind if someone misses something in front of their face. Every day you’re gonna be concerned with whether or not I need help just to get around. You can’t say it’s not gonna change anything. Sure, it might not change that you care about me, that we’re best friends, but it’s gonna change everything else.” Before Alex could even think of a retort, Reggie was on his feet, shoulder slamming into the door frame as he walked outside. They heard a crash a few seconds later, Bobby just motioned for Alex to stay quiet and follow him. The blonde listened, following after their best friend as he hurried down the driveway, swerving around the knocked over trash can. Ray popped out the front door.

“Everything okay?”

“Reggie’s upset and walked off. Stay here in case he comes back.” Ray nodded, taking a seat on the porch without another word. Bobby made his way to the sidewalk, sighing to himself when he didn’t see his boyfriend. “Alex, go that way. I’ll go this way. Call me if you find him.” Alex nodded and they both sped in their respective directions. Bobby knew Reggie wouldn’t try to cross the street if he knew cars were coming, but he didn’t know how much the other boy could see today. His feet were hammering on the concrete, heart practically in his throat. Alex didn’t mean to upset Reggie, he was just trying to gain an understanding because not knowing things made him anxious. Bobby wished Reggie would just be open about his condition, instead of getting defensive, but he also understood it. Reggie wasn’t used to unconditional love. When they met in middle school, Bobby himself was quiet and shy, only letting sarcastic comments slip out, but Reggie had been loud and boisterous, and Bobby saw it for what it was. He was afraid. He pretended to be confident in what he did so that it wouldn’t hurt as much when people didn’t like him. After they were friends, Bobby wanted to do anything he could to protect Reggie from the world. It wasn’t until they were sophomores that he realized his feelings were different for Reggie than they were for the others, and he didn’t act on them until junior year, when they had all been drinking at a party one night and his sister had suggested a game of spin the bottle. When Reggie spun, and it landed on Bobby, he didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the front of Reggie’s shirt and yanked the other boy into him. Reggie didn’t try to pull away until someone cleared their throat, and they quickly abandoned the game to have a talk they clearly needed, and they’d been together ever since.

But now Bobby was running down sidewalks and around the Molina’s neighborhood, trying to find his boyfriend before something could happen. His phone rang in his pocket and he fished it out, never stopping his movement, he answered it without looking, “Hello? Did you find him?”

_“Fuck, I was trying to call Ray.”_ That made Bobby stop in his tracks.

“Reggie, sweetheart-“

“ _Bobby, I’m sorry.”_

“Reg, baby, you don’t need to be sorry.”

“ _I shouldn’t have blown up at him, and I-I don’t know where I am.”_ Bobby could hear the sniffles, not that he needed to for him to know that his boyfriend was crying.

“Can you see your phone enough to share your location?”

“ _No-but, uh, Julie always has it set so that it shares to her phone?”_

“Okay, hold on, I’m gonna patch Luke in so she can check without us hanging up, okay baby?”

“ _I’m sorry, darling.”_ Bobby felt his own eyes prickling with tears, he hated how sad his joyful boyfriend sounded. He quickly patched in a call to Luke and they waited while it rang. He didn’t take long to answer.

“ _Yo, Bobbers, what-“_

“Put Julie on the phone.” Bobby could hear Luke grumbling before Julie’s voice came over the line, “Jules! I need you to check Reggie’s location and send it to me.”

Julie, bless her heart, didn’t ask why before pulling out her own phone and bringing up the location. She relayed it to Bobby and could hear the sniffling on the line, making them both swear to let her know when he found him. Bobby spared a glance at the location before breaking into another run, talking to Reggie the whole time. He knew he needed to let Alex know, but that wasn’t the priority right now. He could hear what Reggie wasn’t saying. Reggie wasn’t saying that he was upset, he wasn’t saying that he was scared. Bobby knew, though. Not just from the tears he could hear through the phone, but because he knew Reggie. The boy didn’t do well being alone, and he didn’t do well when he didn’t know what to expect. Right now he was in both situations. Bobby made it six blocks before he caught sight of his boyfriend, head down on his knees as he sat on a sidewalk, phone still pressed to his ear. The guitarist waited until he was within a few feet before he called out, letting Reggie look before he approached and placed a hand on the bassist’s shoulder. His boyfriend immediately melted into his arms, and Bobby held him tightly, letting him pull them both to the ground.

He did make sure to let Alex and Julie know he found them, and Ray picked them up when he called. Reggie didn’t say much, just held onto Bobby’s arm and stared down at their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually based on something I went through when I was nineteen. My best friend had noticed that I was having trouble seeing, and she was trying to console me and let me know that I wouldn’t be alone. I got upset and ran off because I didn’t want people to cater to my situation. Our other best friend ran through town until he found me because he knew it was a blurry day and I was having trouble seeing my phone to call them and couldn’t figure out how to get home.


	5. Chapter 5

“We should get married.” Bobby jerked his head up from the book he’d been reading, eyeing his boyfriend who had finally come home from another appointment. With his permission, Bobby had moved most of Reggie’s things into his apartment. He did most of his work from home, so he was there to help him whenever he needed it. Now he waited, expecting some sort of explanation but it became clear he wasn’t getting one.

“Way to sweep a man off his feet with that proposal.” He deadpanned, setting his book aside and opening his arms, which Reggie willingly melted into. Reggie hummed in response, burying his face in Bobby’s neck. “Want to tell me what brought this up?”

Reggie shrugged, pulling away enough to be heard, “I just want to still be able to see you when we get married.”

Bobby felt his heart pick up, “You think about that often, do you?”

“All the time.” Reggie answered honestly. “I bought a ring for you, for the record. I was gonna do a big thing.” He fished around in his pants pocket until he could grasp the metal, “I’ve had it for like a year.”

“Reg...” his boyfriend breathed out, “You really want to get married? I thought you didn’t believe in marriage.”

“With you, I can believe in anything. So will you marry me?”

“Of course I will, baby. I bet Alex would get ordained, that way no matter what day is clear enough for you we can have someone available.”

Reggie smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. “Ray kind of already did. And remember how he hired that guy to help him with shoots?” Bobby nodded, it had been Reggie’s job for a bit, until he couldn’t see one day and tripped over a cord. He had been terrified he ruined the event they were at and told Ray he should hire someone else. Ray waited almost two years before he finally did. “His name is Willie. And he’s actually been flirting with Alex whenever they’re around each other. I heard Ray giving him the ‘don’t hurt my pseudo son’ speech.” He added with a laugh.

Bobby grinned, “You do know he gave me that speech too, right?” Reggie shrugged, still smiling. “Okay, so Ray will marry us then. Maybe we can hire Willie for the photos. Have you told Luke about your eyes yet?” Reggie’s smile faded. Since Alex found out, over a month ago, Bobby had been telling Reggie that he should just tell their other best friend. And Reggie knew he should. But he couldn’t. Bobby sighed, “Okay, well come on, band practice starts in forty five minutes.” He waited until his new fiancé stood up, sliding the ring in his finger before he took Bobby’s hand and pulled him up.

As if sensing the stress, Reggie’s eyes were cloudy before they made it to the studio. They got through two songs before Luke snapped, “Reggie, haven’t you been _practicing_? You know these songs by heart. How do you keep messing up?”

“I- I’m sorry.” Reggie muttered. Bobby was already making his way over, and Reggie swung his bass off, moving to hand it to his fiancé, but falling short. Bobby knew what to expect though and caught the guitar before it hit the ground. “I missed, didn’t I?”

Luke groaned, “Geez Reg, are you blind or something?” Deep down, Reggie knew Luke didn’t mean it. If he knew, he wouldn’t have said it at all. But Reggie could feel the tears burning his eyes, even as Bobby and Julie spun around to glare daggers at the lead guitarist. Alex was beside Reggie in a second, he could smell the fruity cologne the blonde wore as he was whispering sympathetically and shooting his own glare at Luke.

“Yes, Luke.” Reggie said shakily. Everyone froze. The three of them were still glaring, but now Luke looked confused.

“What do you mean, yes?” Reggie could picture his brows furrowed together.

“I mean yes, I am blind. Or I mean, I’m going blind.” Alex released Reggie, and he felt the solid arm of his fiancé slide around his waist. “Bobby and I are getting married by the way.”

He heard a gasp, followed by slender arms flinging themselves around his neck, and knew it was Julie, “I knew it! I saw the ring I helped you pick out.”

“Hold on, hold on, can we back up for a second?” Luke sounded incredulous, “Am I the last one to find out Reggie can’t see?”

“Well, uh, Carlos still doesn’t know?” Reggie offered, but he heard a grunt in response. “Luke?”

“He, uh, he left, Reg.” Alex told him quietly.

“Oh.” Reggie turned, burying himself in his fiancé’s arms.

Julie spoke up next, “Alex and I are going to talk to him.” The fire in her voice almost made Reggie want to stop her, but before he could get the words out he heard the door shutting quietly.

Bobby just rubbed his back, “He’ll be back, Reg. And his reaction isn’t your fault. You don’t owe him an explanation to why you didn’t tell him, and you didn’t even owe him telling him. It’s your situation. Not his.”

“I love you, Bobby.”

“I love you, too, Reg. Come on, let’s get home.”

It was almost an hour before they heard a knock on the front door. Reggie stumbled over to get it while Bobby made dinner. The knock happened again as he felt around for the doorknob, and when he finally opened it the person was poised to knock again and accidentally knocked his face, “Ow!”

“Shit, sorry, Reg!” So it was Luke.

“What’s going on? Reg, are you hurt?” Bobby came skidding around the corner, apron still tied on. He caught sight of Luke, and Reggie didn’t need to see him to know he was going to fall into protective mode.

“I went to knock again and his face was there!” Luke sounded panicked as he tried to explain. Bobby glared at him, pulling Reggie’s hands away from his head so he could take a look.

“You might get a bruise between your eyes, but for now you look okay.” Reggie muttered his appreciation before turning to feel his way back to the kitchen. “What are you doing here?” Bobby hissed at the other boy, and Luke rightfully looked sheepish.

“I did not react well earlier, and after Julie reemed me a new one and Alex calmed her down, I realized how much of an ass I was.”

Reggie snorted, “Understatement.”

“That’s fair.” Luke sighed, “Just, why didn’t you tell me? Why was I the last to know?”

“I didn’t tell Bobby or Alex either.” Reggie snapped. “I mean I did, but only after Bobby walked in while I was talking to Ray. Alex figured it out in his own.”

Bobby gestured for Luke to take a seat as he moved back to the stove. Luke looked at Reggie, who seemed to be staring at the wall, “It’s not like I didn’t notice something was wrong, Reg. I guess I just assumed if it was serious then you would’ve told me.”

“Well, it is serious.”

“Reg,” Bobby started but Reggie continued. He told Luke about his appointments and all the treatments and solutions Ray has tried just to help him. Nothing worked. He told him about the diagnosis, which was why he never got around to actually taking his drivers test and he always asked Bobby or Julie to drive him. Luke listened the whole time, never interrupting. When he was finally finished, Luke took a second to absorb the information he’d been given.

“Wow. Okay. Now I know.” He turned to look at two of his best friends, a smile spreading across his face, “So you guys are getting married, huh?”


	6. Chapter 6

Reggie is having another cloud day. Julie had convinced him to finally tell Carlos, because with Luke knowing it was only a matter of time. But Carlos already knew. He was adamant no one had told him, but he had overheard Reggie when he explained it to Ray and Julie the first time.

But today Ray was asking Reggie and Bobby questions about their upcoming wedding. With Ray being the officiant, Julie had volunteered herself and her best friend to make the cake and the food, and Reggie convinced Bobby to have the wedding within a month. Bobby was unsure at first, but he knew it was important to Reggie that his vision didn’t get worse before the big day. “So, which of these do you like better?” Reggie knew Ray was holding something up, but he couldn’t even begin to tell you what it was. He blinked a couple times in a futile attempt to clear his eyes.

“Uh, I think he’ll like the left one.” Bobby answered before looking at his fiancé, “They’re like sample photos. One is like a sepia filter, you know the old school brown. And the other is a bit brighter, and it looks like the camera caught the sun at the right angle for refraction ‘cause there’s a rainbow casting through the bottom of their bodies.”

The bassist closed his eyes entirely, picturing the images. “I think the rainbow one sounds pretty.” He said finally. Bobby squeezed his hand as Ray muttered something about Bobby knowing him.

“We can look at them another day, too, mijo. To make sure you’re happy with that choice.”

Reggie shrugged, “Bobby is the one that has to look at it for the rest of his life.” His fiancé chuckled at that and Reggie smiled.

He could hear the smile in Ray’s voice when he spoke, “Julie-bean wanted me to discuss the menu with you. What were you boys thinking?”

“Tacos.” They answered together.

“Tacos, do you want like a build your own taco bar?”

“Yeah, that should make it easier right? We just have to prep the fillings.”

“Yes, mijo. I also did speak to Willie, and he’s happy to take pictures for you during the ceremony.” He paused for a second, “I wanted to talk to you boys. About the rush for the wedding.”

“Dad-“ Reggie started but Ray patted his shoulder.

“It’s not what you think, mijo. I’m not against it. I understand why this is so important to you. And it is not as though anyone is surprised the two of you are the first to get married. Luke still hasn’t gotten the courage to ask Julie out and Alex turns into a mess when Willie so much as looks at him, and Flynn and Carrie were never ones to do what others expected.” The three of them laughed, “What I wanted to say is that people may give you crap for it. And if that happens, I want you both to stay strong. You both want this, so don’t let anyone else cast doubts on it. And I’m proud of you both. When Reggie moved in with us I could tell you two had feelings for each other, but you were both too afraid to make a move. It’s amazing to see how far you’ve both come.”

Reggie didn’t realize he had tears in his eyes until he felt Bobby wipe them away, “Thanks, dad. I love you.”

“I love you too, mijo. Both of you.” Bobby mumbled his own affections back before Julie burst into the room, announcing it was time to go shopping.

Julie and Bobby each had an arm wrapped around one of Reggie’s as they walked through the store. The guys knew they didn’t have a lot of extra cash since they hadn’t saved up for a wedding, so they were just walking through department stores to find what they needed.

“What colors are you guys doing?”

“Oh! I wanted to do like black clothes with red splashes of color.” Reggie answered, and his fiancé smiled in amusement. “Bobbers, what were you thinking?”

Bobby hummed, he hadn’t given it much though, “Do you want to do the same colors?”

“Hmm. Red is pretty much both of our signature color. So we could do the same colors with different styles.”

Julie gently released Reggie’s arm, making sure Bobby still had him before she started flirting around between the racks. Before Reggie could really wonder where she had gone, he felt somewhere appear beside him. “Oh thank goodness, I was afraid you boys were gonna style yourselves.”

“Carrie?” Reggie turned his head to the new voice, surprised Bobby’s twin sister was making an appearance.

“Hey sis,” Bobby seemed unphased, but Reggie didn’t hesitate to wrap her in a hug.

“Aw, at least someone knows how to show love.” She teased, “It’s okay bro, everyone knows Reggie is the only person you aren’t emotionally constipated about.”

“Says the girl that only has exceptions for my fiancé and her own girlfriend.” Bobby quipped back, “Where is Flynn?”

“Are you kidding?” Carrie snorted, “When Julie told her about making the food, she immediately took herself to the store and she’s been trying out recipes ever since. Our kitchen hasn’t been clean or quiet for like two weeks.”

Reggie felt a little guilty. But before he could dwell on it, Julie was back. “Reg, are you gonna be able to change and stuff on your own?”

“Uh, I should?” Before he could get to the dressing room though, someone grabbed his arm.

“I’m helping you.”

“Alex? Is everyone hiding from me around the store?”

Alex chuckled, “Naw, when Carrie told me she was coming I immediately got in the car to come too.”

“So,” Reggie nudged him, “You and Willie, huh?” Alex made a strangled sound in the back of his throat before making excuses, but Reggie wasn’t fooled.

It took over an hour to get through all the clothes Julie picked out. Neither of them were allowed out of the dressing room at the same time, and Carrie and Julie gave their opinions on every combination of clothes they had until they found the right outfits. Julie swore they were his style, and he trusted her.


End file.
